Hurricane Ian skips Savannah. Businesses reopen as residents, tourists return to River Street

As Hurricane Ian made landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 storm, life resumed under cloudy grey skies on Georgia’s coast. Savannah residents watched as Ian battered southwest Florida on Wednesday and Thursday and made its way up the Atlantic coastline.

Chatham County was under a tropical storm warning and hurricane watch Thursday night into Friday, but as Ian tracked farther east, expectations of heavy rain and wind eased off. According to Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA), “the storm has moved past us.”

“We anticipate that any conditions that are out in the community right now will continue to get better and better as the day goes by,” said CEMA Director Dennis Jones, “We've shut down our Emergency Operations Center. We're going to be monitoring the event for the rest of the day and see what comes of it.”

A temporary shelter that opened Thursday at Compassion Christian Church closed Friday afternoon after providing cover for about 19 people in need, said Jones. Other shelters in Savannah remain open including the Salvation Army and Union Mission.

More: Hurricane Ian: Emergency shelter to close at noon after storm passes

A quiet afternoon on River Street

A colder and more blustery than usual Friday afternoon kept most residents at home and visitors in their hotels, but some ventured out for some fresh air and to watch the wind ripple in the Savannah River.

Kisha and Loren Robinson strolled down River Street on their first ever trip to Savannah looking for a bite to eat. But most restaurants were closed in anticipation of possible flooding. The couple, here on their 10th anniversary, were visiting from Tampa, Florida, a city expected to be in the direct path of the Category 4 hurricane. Instead, Ian veered 125 miles south, hitting Fort Meyers on Wednesday.

“We had a pre-planned trip here, but because of the hurricane we left a day early because we were in a mandatory evacuation zone,” said Kisha. “At the last minute it turned and went farther south … family and friends and everything’s fine. There’s just a lot of downed trees and people without power.”

Now, in Savannah, the Robinsons managed to avoid the worst of the storm as well.

“It's a lot of devastation for a lot of people so we hope they can rebuild and everybody will be okay,” said Kisha.

The couple made their way to River Street's Vic’s Coffee House, where Manager Kathy Hall manned the register and espresso machine. Like many restaurants on the river, the shop opened just a few hours ago, at 1 p.m., in case of any storm surge.

“We weren’t sure of the weather, but the safety of our employees comes first,” said Hall.

Hall herself has lived in the area for 25 years and experienced more severe weather from Matthew and Irma in 2016 and 2017, but there was no damage to the inside of the shop those years either.

“We’re relieved because nobody wants to see the city get hit,” said Hall.

Dodging raindrops and tree debris

On East Bay Street, Stephanie Coursey and Patrick Strang’s dog donned a pink raincoat as they ambled down the sidewalk littered with branches and clumps of moss.

“It originally said it was going to rain today but we decided to go out walking anyways and do whatever we can before it starts raining,” said Coursey.

The two, originally from Atlanta, were in town for a wedding, which was ultimately canceled due to the inclement weather. They watched news of Ian hitting Florida and monitored the weather app for Savannah. Now that things have died down, they’re hoping the wedding reception will resume later this weekend.

Across the street at the 208 Wine Bar, bartender Alex Irwin tended to a single customer in the swanky establishment.

“Usually we have a little more people by this time,” said Irwin, “Yesterday, business was definitely affected as well. We usually have a dozen or so coming in but only had five customers.”

Earlier in the week, however, Irwin saw more people than usual. Several of the parking lots downtown were filled, he said.

“A few people who were on their way to Florida, when they got news of the hurricane, kind of turned around and headed here instead,” said Irwin.

Meanwhile, the staff at 208 monitored hurricane updates every hour. They closed early yesterday, but business is resuming as normal today.

"That's basically the attitude we have, prepare for the worst but we're still gonna open in case it passes us," said Irwin.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Hurricane Ian skips Savannah, makes landfall in South Carolina